The new fiscal year is underway, and 38,000 state employees will see a pay raise.

A 2% pay hike was approved in this year’s legislative session. State civil service director Byron Decoteau says traditionally state employees were eligible for a 4% performance adjustment on October 1, but that won’t happen this year.

“All classified employees, unless they’re at the maximum of their pay range, will receive a two percent pay increase on January 1,” Decoteau said.

Law enforcement and child welfare workers specifically will see a higher pay rise in the hopes of combating high turnover rates. So Decoteau says prison guards and probation officers are among the state workers that will see an even higher pay on January 2nd.

“About 6,200 classified employees will see an additional modest increase,” Decoteau said.

The higher wages will cost the state an additional $48 million this year. But Decoteau says raises help combat a high turnover rate in state government, which is also costly.

“Corrections see up to 200 percent in their corrections cadet with turnover. Last year alone we spent over $114 million in turnover,” Decoteau said.

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